Nowhere To Go
by Jedi Ani Unduli
Summary: A captive spirit mourns the blatantly indecent and innately dark actions that are manipulating her. But a spark of hope keeps her going as she realizes she is not as under their control as she seems. Rated for containing mentions of witchcraft and necromancy.


_This is based off of Star Wars: Rebels "Rise of the Old Masters". I figured Luminara was probably dead, but hoped otherwise because I personally wanted to see her get more screen time. Completely underrated and underestimated, in my opinion, not to mention powerful and has a lot of interesting history. _

_Disclaimer: This is not mine. If it was, Luminara would have survived because it would have been interesting to see how she as a Jedi Master would interact with the crew of the Ghost, especially with Kanan and Ezra. Also, seeing her decide on the Rebellion and possibly being a key strategist for them would have been cool. COME ON, DISNEY! YOU BETTER NOT KILL OFF ANY MORE COOL JEDI! *sigh* You know what makes an author happy: read and review at the end please._

Her spirit watched the ensuing battle between Light and Dark with a heavy heart. If she had known what uses her body was going to be put to by the darkness, she would have preferred suicide by detonator.

Despite her body having been degraded slightly due to the passage of time, Luminara Unduli's spirit was still as active as ever. Not for the first time did she curse her heritage. Mirialans were known to be naturally strong in the Force, strong just as much in body as in spirit, almost surprising given they were from a planet dry and barren and almost completely devoid of life. Even in death their bodies never gave up that essence, almost as if the Force itself had formed them from the dust. Many of their legends hinted at this. That was why they were so strict on their rituals, especially ones regarding their death.

If a Mirialan died, his or her Force signature still remained with the body. The spirit may have gone to the Force (depending on the circumstances of the death, it did not always; the connection was indeed that strong), but any Force user would still sense them as alive and present. That was where their rituals came in. Bringing a Mirialan's body back to their homeworld, their padawan, partner, or family member would bring the body to the central hive-like network of caves at the heart of Mirial. These caves were used specifically for rituals such as these. Elders would be there from the specific clan to "watch" the ritual through their personal connections to the Force at the entrance. The person closely connected to the dead individual would reach out with the Force to determine which path to take, and after being urged onwards into the network of caves for a period of time (could take as long as several days) would be guided to a location where the body would be surrendered to the Force through fire.

There was more to this ritual, however. It was considered by many on their homeworld to be one of the final and hardest tests a Mirialan would have to face. Likenesses of spirits of the dead from the past came to haunt the caverns, bodiless voices enacting the final moments before their deaths, filling the spaces with whispers and promises of being able to bring the loved one back to life. False promises, as all Mirialans knew logically, but attachments to the dead individual had the potential to emotionally cloud their judgment. This was to test their ability to release their attachments, to recognize when attachments morphed from emotionally beneficial and mutually supportive to possession and obsession and, ultimately, desire for control over things that were not meant to be controlled by mortal beings. Upon passing the test, the Mirialans recognized that they were but vessels for the Force, that everyone dies eventually and no one can cheat or escape it.

Afterwards, the body would be sacrificed using flame and materials inside the caves to reduce the bones to ashes, releasing the signature and what may have remained of the spirit to the embrace of the Force. If there was no way to return to Mirial for this ritual, a Jedi pyre would be built and the spirit and signature released to the Force this way. All that was left was to find their way out to meet and debrief with the elders. Few failed this test, ultimately driven mad and exiled to wander clanless until claimed by the sands and frigid climate of their planet. Depressing the test may sound, but it encouraged wiser use of their gifts. Wise use of power granted could only come about through understanding of their role in the use of that power, and understanding came only when realized through experience and rituals such as these. As she herself had come to realize, attachment to others only became dangerous if she abused her power against the rules the Force had set for the universe. She had underwent this ritual with her long-gone master, and had assumed that one of her padawans would undertake it one day when she left to join the Force.

What had been done to her, however, had been a complete violation of not just Mirialan tradition but also everything she was as a Jedi. The Inquisitor had defeated her while she bought time for her group to escape, knowing that her sacrifice had been called for to protect future heroes for the galaxy. When she had been defeated, she had relaxed into death, thinking she was finally free from the pain, loss, the utter and complete _absence_ she had and still felt when Order 66 was enacted. However, it was hers but for a brief moment.

What happened next she did not fully understand, but the pain and agony still echoed. Her spirit was literally blocked from entering in the Force and dragged back into the corporeal plain to be reconnected to her body, but in such a disjointed fashion that basic communication was denied to her while her spirit was forced to manifest itself in a fully physical form. Every indicator pointed to necromantic tactics, infused with just enough knowledge and training in the dark side of the Force, leaving her in this accursed state. If she could go back in time, she would have tried harder to dismember that Pau'an.

As if this wasn't enough, her spirit was being used as bait to lure surviving Jedi to their deaths. Already she had suffered in silence while sensing others she had known arrive to rescue her only to be snuffed out, furthering the suffocating hold the darkness had on the galaxy. However, hope had come in the form of her spirit gradually healing itself from the cruel treatment it had undergone. Previous to this, only one had escaped, thanks to her guidance (she may not have been able to talk aloud, but mentally it had not been a problem to direct her to a safer route). The young Jedi before her, Ezra and the other, formerly known as Caleb Dume, would probably suffer the others' fate, unless she intervened like last time. While limited in certain ways, especially when it came to the Inquisitor, in other ways her spirit was freer to act out. She wouldn't be able to act directly against the Inquisitor (dark side and necromancy at work), but she would be able to bolster their efforts and affect the surroundings. Unnoticed by the living, her deep blue eyes gleamed from the coffin.

A lesson in not tampering with the forbidden was long overdue for this Pau'an.

When Kanan used the Force to pin the Inquisitor to the ceiling, she helped him hold him there while the boy escaped. As Zeb struggled with the closing doors, she gave him a little extra strength. As the Inquisitor aimed his spinning lightsabers at them and was about to throw, she stretched out her spirit to the flying creatures, using them to edge into his path just enough where he had to adjust the flight path, but by then it was too late, and the crew of the Ghost was out of his reach.

Deep inside, she knew what she did wouldn't be enough, that her bones would continue to be used to lure others to their deaths here. But she was Mirialan, strong in the Force and in spirit. Despite her spirit being forced to dwell in this unnatural state, she would find ways to lend aid to others lured here until either she was released from this prison or the Pau'an grew smart and abandoned his master's fortress. Maybe someone would be able to remove her body from this place and be able to properly release her into the Force, thus completely removing that option from the dark side. Until then, he would find her to be a most devious and vengeful spirit, showing him the error of dabbling in things that should never have been tampered to begin with. What remained of her dyed black lips curled up into a bitter smile.

After all, she had nowhere to go.


End file.
